The delegation of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), led by Executive Director João Negrão, who arrived in Chisinau on the occasion of the Launch Conference of the European Union (EU) Project “Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine” (EU4IP), had on March 26 a meeting with the representatives of the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova (ASEM).
Alongside of the EUIPO delegation, there were also the heads of intellectual property offices from Georgia, Ukraine, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Romania, who also arrived in the Republic of Moldova at the launch of the EU4IP Project, as well as representatives of the State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI).
During the meeting, Alexandru Stratan, Rector of the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova, and João Negrão, Executive Director of the EUIPO, signed a Memorandum of Understanding within the Pan-European Seal Mundus Programme (PES). Based on this Memorandum, high-performing ASEM students will be able to access several ongoing projects, by far the most important being a one-year internship at the EUIPO headquarters in Alicante, Spain, fully paid by the office. This initiative will contribute to the professional and personal development of Moldovan students, offering them unique opportunities for learning and development in a prestigious international environment.
Simultaneously and remotely, Memorandums of Understanding were also signed by Tbilisi State University and Technical University of Georgia, making the three academic institutions the first to join the PES programme outside the EU and the European Patent Convention (EPC). Academic institutions of Ukraine are also expected to join the PES programme soon.
EUIPO Executive Director João Negrão also had a meeting with ASEM students, during which he spoke to them about the role of intellectual property (IP) in innovation and economic development, the importance of protecting intellectual property rights and EUIPO’s role in promoting and protecting these rights.
Eugeniu Rusu, Director General of AGEPI, also came with a greeting message to the students, who spoke to them about the role of intellectual property in economic, social and cultural development. “AGEPI and ASEM have built a solid and long-standing collaborative relationship, and this is reflected in the many joint initiatives we have undertaken together. Whether it is information sessions at AGEPI to familiarize yourself with the national system for the protection and exploitation of intellectual property rights or the communications we had at ASEM, our common goal has always been to promote knowledge and good practices in this vital field”, said Eugeniu Rusu.
Pan-European Seal Programme (PES)
Since 2014, EUIPO together with the European Patent Office (EPO) implements the PES Programme to strengthen IP collaboration and cultivate a strong bond between the academic community and the labor market. Currently, 142 partner universities from 27 EU Member States and 11 signatory states of the European Patent Convention participate in PES. They have access to several ongoing projects, in particular: a year-long paid traineeship open to university graduates at the EUIPO (Alicante, Spain) or the EPO (Munich, Germany); participation in training courses and other events; research visits to EUIPO.
EUIPO has decided to further expand the programme by opening it up to the beneficiary countries of EU-funded projects it implements, through bilateral MoU between the EUIPO and the concerned universities.
